Today Kim Gordon releases her highly anticipated, ‘No Home Record’, an album already being heralded as “provocative, challenging and effortlessly cool” and “a superb genre-spanning solo debut.” Those who purchase the CD or LP at Amoeba Hollywood (6400 Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90028) today can celebrate with Gordon in-person at an in-store signing event starting at 7pm.
Earlier today, Gordon released a clip for “Hungry Baby”, which is the latest in a short video series the legendary musician and Berlin-based artist and filmmaker Loretta Fahrenholz created to accompany the album
Kurt Vile’s Childish Prodigy celebrates 10 years this month. In commemoration, a limited blue edition of Vile’s Matador debut is available today at the Matador webstore and independent record stores. The reissue includes a limited purple edition of the “He’s Alright” 7″, back in print for the first time since it accompanied the original release in 2009.
In case you missed it, this past week Kurt Vile released a new film, (bottle back), documenting a week of rehearsals in the Catskill Mountains ahead of the release of his 2018 LP Bottle It In. The documentary, along with a link to stream “Baby’s Arms feat. The Sadies” from the filming is available HERE. Save 25% when purchasing Bottle It In through the end of today (Oct 11) at the Matador Webstore.
Lucy Dacus’s ‘2019’ EP compiling her series of holiday-themed singles will be released on November 8th. Following “La Vie En Rose”, “My Mother & I”, “Forever Half Mast” and most recently “Dancing In The Dark”, today’s EP announcement comes with a new Halloween-inspired cover of Phil Collins’ ‘In The Air Tonight’. Lucy’s ‘2019’ EP will feature two more songs celebrating the winter holidays – a cover of “Last Christmas” and an original ode to New Years titled “Fools Gold”.
In this spirited cover, Lucy revamps ‘In The Air Tonight’ into a Halloween anthem by magnifying the original song’s ominous undertones, bringing the mythology behind Phil Collins’ song to the forefront with haunting vocals and penetrating reverb. In Lucy’s own words, “perhaps the best eerie bop of all time, and certainly the best drum fill. The image in the first verse is so unsettling- watching someone watch someone drown without moving to save them. People have wondered if this is something Phil Collins really witnessed, but the song is actually just a manifestation of his anger and frustration about his divorce. It’s tense, dark, and so much fun, as a good Halloween should be. This was the most fun I’ve ever had in a studio.”
Additionally, a special bundle set of the ‘2019’ EP and a limited edition, clear vinyl pressing of Dacus’s breakthrough 2018 album ‘Historian’ will be available through the Matador Records webstore.
(photo : Elizabeth Weinberg)
2019 Tracklist
1. Fool’s Gold
2. La Vie En Rose
3. My Mother & I
4. Forever Half Mast
5. Dancing In The Dark
6. In The Air Tonight
7. Last Christmas
Lucy Dacus on tour :
Wednesday, October 9 Headliner’s, Louisville, KY !
Thursday, October 10 Park West, Chicago, IL !
Friday, October 11 Majestic, Madison, WI !
Saturday, October 12 Cedar Cultural Center, Minneapolis, MN !
Monday, October 14 Slowdown, Omaha, NE !
Wednesday, October 16 The Rialto , Bozeman, MT !
Thursday October 17 Top Hat Lounge, Missoula, MT !
Friday October 18 The Olympic, Boise, ID !
Saturday October 19 The Bartlett, Spokane, WA !
Monday October 21 Hollywood Theatre, Vancouver, BC !
Tuesday October 22 Neumo’s, Seattle, WA !
Wednesday October 23 Aladdin Theater, Portland, OR !
Friday October 25 August Hall, San Francisco, CA !
Saturday October 26 Teragram Theater, Los Angeles, CA !
Sunday October 27 Moroccan Lounge, Los Angeles, CA (SOLD OUT) !
Monday October 28 Belly Up, San Diego, CA !
Tuesday October 29 Crescent Ballroom, Phoenix, AZ !
Thursday, October 31 Meow Wolf, Santa Fe NM!
Friday, November 1 Gothic Theatre, Englewood, CO !
Monday, November 4 Delmar Hall, St Louis, MO !
Tuesday, November 5 Woodward Theatre, Cincinnati, OH !
Wednesday, November 6 Covenant Fine Arts Center, Grand Rapids, MI
Sunday, November 17 Corona Capital Festival, Mexico City MX
Wednesday, December 4 Royale, Boston, MA*
Thursday, December 5 Webster Hall New York, NY*
Saturday, December 7 9:30 Club, Washington, DC*
January 17-19 , Songwriters Festival, South Walton FL
“Hungry Baby” is the latest single from Kim Gordon’s forthcoming solo album, ‘No Home Record’, out this Friday (October 11). Early praise for ‘No Home Record’ has been fairly over the top (“everything a Kim Gordon record should be: provocative, challenging and effortlessly cool” –DIY,
“a bold mix of industrial noise, art-punk poetics and wry wit” – The Guardian, “sharp, savvy and engagingly subversive” – Uncut), and there will be more to talk about later this week.
In early September 2018, on the eve of the announcement of his latest album, ‘Bottle It In’ (celebrating its one-year anniversary this October), Kurt Vile – along with friends and fellow musicians – decamped to the Catskill Mountains in upper state New York to rehearse, prepare and ponder the year’s road ahead.
The brief getaway, which included Matt Sweeney and Toronto friends The Sadies, is captured in the short documentary film (bottle back), directed by Ryan Scott.
In between hanging out and exploring the remote and rainy surroundings, (bottle back) catches a solo acoustic adaptation of “Bassackwards”, a performance of “Check Baby” with The Violators, and a special backyard rendition of “Baby’s Arms” featuring The Sadies.
Somewhere between pre-tour workshop and countryside retreat, (bottle back) is an intimate and insightful glimpse into the creative process of one of the most prolific and celebrated singer-songwriters of his generation.
Having capped off an extensive North American tour this summer, Vile plays further festivals this autumn, including Levitation and Corona Capital, as well as a small handful of US headline shows. A list of upcoming dates can be found below.
Earlier today, Vogue Magazine premiered a Loretta Fahrenholz-directed clip for the track, “Don’t Play It” (above) from Kim Gordon’s forthcoming debut solo album ‘No Home Record’ out next Friday, October 11th.
“Baby’s Arms” feat. The Sadies, from an evening in New York’s Catskill Mountains in September 2018.
Excerpted from the forthcoming documentary, (bottle back), out October 3rd.
‘Antics’, the 2nd studio album from Interpol was certified gold in 3 countries (BIG ONES) and received some of the highest accolades of the band’s career, including Drowned In Sound’s Top Album Of 2004 Award (NOTE – MALCOLM, CAN YOU FIND A PHOTO OF THE HUGE PLACQUE SOMEWHERE IN THE ARCHIVES?) . Perhaps you’ve heard the cliche, “no one ever remembers what Drowned In Sound’s #2 album of the year is,” but the Matador Revisionist History Campaign is no place for that sort of gloating or negativity. Featuring several of Interpol’s most beloved songs including “Slow Hands”, “C’mere”, “Evil” and “Narc”, we concluded our 9/27/04 sales pitch for this classic with the words, “with Interpol, things are rarely what they seem.” That made even less sense in context.
– Gerard Cosloy
Interpol’s sophomore album, Antics, celebrates 15 years this week. Announced last month, a very limited supply of the white vinyl anniversary edition remains at record stores worldwide and on the UK and EU territories of the Matador Webstore. Save 25% on the standard LP/CD editions of Antics through next Thursday, October 3rd.
Ending a 16-year hiatus since its last installment, the most mythical, longest running rock n roll mixtape odyssey in existence, Desert Sessions will return this October with the most ambitious entries yet in its expansive and elusive catalog: Vols. 11 & 12 (a/k/a respectively as ‘Arrivederci Despair’ and ‘Tightwads & Nitwits & Critics & Heels’) will be released October 25th. A limited edition first vinyl pressing will include a one of a kind custom mix & match body swap booklet. Exclusive merchandise bundles are available for pre-order now
Vols. 11 & 12 were recorded mostly in a six-day span in December 2018 at Rancho De La Luna studios in Joshua Tree, CA, with Queens of the Stone Age founder and Desert Sessions ringleader/producer Joshua Homme enlisting a cast of players including:
Billy Gibbons (ZZ Top)
Stella Mozgawa (Warpaint)
Jake Shears (Scissor Sisters)
Mike Kerr (Royal Blood)
Carla Azar (Autolux, Jack White)
Les Claypool (Primus)
Matt Sweeney (Chavez, Superwolf, Endless Boogie)
Matt Berry (What We Do in the Shadows, Toast of London)
Libby Grace
Töôrnst Hülpft
The results are eight new songs that embody the legacy of freedom from expectations and inhibitions that stretches back to 1997, when Homme led a first retreat to the Joshua Tree desert. What began as a casual writing and recording session amongst friends—isolated from daily distractions and comforts—has since become a possibly infinite body of work. Now spanning 12 volumes over the course of two decades (and a total of two documented live performances), The Desert Sessions has featured some of music’s most cherished icons—past players have included Polly Harvey, Mark Lanegan, Josh Freese, Dean Ween, among many others—deliberately removing themselves from their comfort zones and working together to create some of their most relaxed yet challenging work.
The tracklist for Desert Sessions ‘Vols. 11 & 12’ (a/k/a ‘Arrivederci Despair’ and ‘Tightwads & Nitwits & Critics & Heels’) is:
Move Together (lead vocal: Billy F. Gibbons)
Noses in Roses Forever (lead vocal: Joshua Homme)
Far East for the Trees
If You Run (lead vocal: Libby Grace)
Crucifire (lead vocal: Mike Kerr)
Chic Tweetz (vocals: Töôrnst Hülpft, Matt Berry)
Something You Can’t See (lead vocal: Jake Shears)
Easier Said Than Done (lead vocal: Joshua Homme)
Following November’s visits to Japan and New Zealand, Steve Gunn returns to Australia for 7 shows – tickets go on sale at 10 am local time tomorrow (September 26). Watch this space for news about more post-‘The Unseen In Between’ material being made available very soon.
Friday, October 18 Lambert’s, Austin TX %
Sunday, October 20 Duet Jazz ,The Bob Dylan Center Presents: An Evening with Steve Gunn, Tulsa OK Wednesday, October 23 Showbox Theater, Seattle WA @%
Thursday, October 24 Commodore Ballroom, Vancouver BC @%
Friday, October 25 Wild Buffalo, Bellingham WA @%
Saturday, October 26 Wonder Ballroom, Portland OR @%
Monday, October 28 Slim’s, San Francisco CA @%
Tuesday, October 29 Slim’s, San Francisco CA @%
Wednesday, October 30 Slim’s, San Francisco CA @%
Sunday, November 3 Shibuya 7th Floor Tokyo JP % Wednesday, November 6 Tuning Fork, Auckland NZ % Thursday, November 7 Blue Smoke, Christchurch NZ % Friday, November 8 Dog With Two Tails, Dunedin NZ % Saturday, November 9 The Plant, Blenheim NZ % Sunday, November 10 Moon, Wellington NZ % Wednesday, November 13 Sitting Room Session, Hawkes Bay NZ % November 16 + 17 Mullum Music Festival %
Monday, November 18 Junk Bar, Brisbane AU %
Wednesday, November 20 Altar, Hobart AU % Thursday, November 21 Theatre Royal, Castlemaine AU + % Friday, November 22 Melbourne Music Week, State Library, Melbourne AU + % Saturday, November 23 Coalchella, Wombarra Bowlo, Wombarra AU % Sunday, November 24 Red Rattler, Sydney AU + %
% indicates solo performance
@ w/ Dinosaur Jr.
+ w/ Tiny Ruins
Belle and Sebastian have released a video for the new single ‘This Letter’, taken from their recently released soundtrack album ‘Days Of The Bagnold Summer’
Directed by frontman Stuart Murdoch and starring Glasgow three-piece Wet Look, the homespun, understated video is a fitting accompaniment to the enchantingly autumnal, beguilingly bittersweet song.
“After the Boaty Weekender I got the chance to make another video,” says Murdoch. “With limited time, I called upon 3/4 of boat mates Wet Look to help me out. They play three tired film crew people, who just made a Belle and Sebastian video – but they quite fancy having a go at filming themselves, so they get hold of Super 8 cameras, and start messing about.”
This autumn will see Belle and Sebastian headline Pitchfork Music Festival in Paris and the inaugural Primavera Weekender in Benidorm, as well playing a small run of European shows. A full list of upcoming dates can be found below.
Fresh off the back of the worldwide release of their new original soundtrack release ‘Days of the Bagnold Summer’, Belle and Sebastian were invited to perform a live session for Mary Anne Hobbs at BBC 6 Music yesterday.
The band contributed a live version of their uptempo recent single ‘Sister Buddha‘, along with a rendition of ‘I Know Where The Summer Goes‘, before chatting with Mary Anne about the new record and their adolescent penchants for Megadeth and Anthrax.
How do you follow up one of the most critically acclaimed debut albums of all-time? Well, if you were Liz Phair — facing intense scrutiny from friends & foes alike — you put your head down and persevere with a collection of songs that resulted in her first (and only) Rolling Stone cover (and Matador’s first ban from Spin Magazine). But it was all a huge misunderstanding! FUN TRIVIA : at least one retailer objected to the couplet, “Your kisses are as wicked as an F-16 And you fuck like a volcano, and you’re everything to me”. I misheard the lyric, thought it was “M-16”, pointed out the hypocrisy of said establishment peddling RIFLES to children but drawing a line at consensual sex between adults. Bottom line — they no longer sell any of our products but that’s ok because who wants to buy records at Bass Pro Shop? No one ever said Revisionist history was going to be pretty.
This month marks 25 years since the release of Liz Phair’s sophomore LP Whip-Smart. To commemorate the anniversary Phair’s expansive box set Girly Sound to Guyville will be available for 25% off standard list price through September 19th at the Matador webstore worldwide.
01. Sister Buddha (Intro)
02. I Know Where The Summer Goes
03. Did The Day Go Just Like You Wanted?
04. Jill Pole
05. I’ll Keep It Inside
06. Safety Valve
07. The Colour’s Gonna Run
08. Another Day, Another Night
09. Get Me Away From Here I’m Dying
10. Wait And See What The Day Holds
11. Sister Buddha
12. This Letter
13. We Were Never Glorious
Perfume Genius has released ‘Eye in the Wall’, a new track taken from
The Sun Still Burns Here, a dance and music performance collaboration with Seattle-based choreographer Kate Wallich. The evening-long piece, set to debut in October, is co-directed by Perfume Genius and Wallich and stars Perfume Genius’s Mike Hadreas alongside dance company The YC.
The nearly 9-minute ‘Eye in the Wall’ is a hypnotic swirl of propulsive percussion, celestial atmospherics and a spellbinding vocal performance that is unlike anything Hadreas has done before. Listen to it HERE.
“I think of ‘Eye in the Wall’ as a cosmic peep show,” says Hadreas. “Watching, being watched, dancers unlatched from the Matrix and truly LIVING. Creating new rituals on the other side. Whole bodies braiding, spit glowing in the dark and a camera floating just above. We spent a lot of time in the studio alternating between the math of the song and the magic of it — which was very much like the process of creating the dance itself. Working with Kate Wallich and YC, really being with my body, really being with other bodies – there is control and a real formula but a portal opened up in parallel that is completely free and overwhelmingly full of feeling.”
Wallich adds: “’Eye in the Wall’ is the part of the piece where we lure you in and spit you out. A tornado of body, time, space, transformation and deterioration. It’s like pulling the Death card when you already knew what needed to end.”
(photo by Andrew J.S.)
For nearly a year, Perfume Genius’ Mike Hadreas and Alan Wyffels have been rehearsing with Wallich and The YC in Seattle. Not only are Hadreas and Wyffels fully integrated into the complex choreography of the piece, but the performance will also feature Hadreas performing songs he has composed for the project live, creating an exciting marriage between Perfume Genius’ epic take on popular music and the evocative nature of Wallich’s contemporary dance.
A trailer for The Sun Still Burns Here, featuring a clip of ‘Eye in the Wall’, can be viewed above. The trailer was directed by Zia Anger, with art direction by Andrew J.S.
The world premiere of The Sun Still Burns Here will be held on October 4th and 5th at Seattle’s Moore Theatre, with more performances slated for New York, Minneapolis and Boston through the winter. The full list of dates can be found below.
On Tuesday, Spoon’s cover of John Lennon’s “Isolation” was performed for Sirius/XM’s Howard Stern Show. “Rent I Pay” from the same session can be viewed via the Sirius/XM app.
In honor of The Boss’s birthday, Lucy Dacus has released a cover of Bruce Springsteen’s “Dancing In The Dark,” which can be heard HERE. This is the fourth installment of her 2019 holiday song series, following her Valentine’s Day cover of “La Vie En Rose,” and original songs “My Mother & I” and “Forever Half Mast,” celebrating Mother’s Day and Independence Day, respectively. Lucy’s ongoing 2019 singles series will also include tracks tied to Halloween, Christmas, and New Year’s, with a physical EP coming in the fall.
In “Dancing In the Dark,” Lucy pays tribute to one of her role models with an inspired Bruce Springsteen cover that foregrounds her ebullient guitar playing. She swaps out the synth line of the original tune in favor of uptempo strumming patterns that coalesce with her arresting vocals to reinvigorate an American classic. “Happy birthday to Bruce,” says Dacus, “but also happy birthday to my dad, the biggest Bruce fan I know and the reason I’ve listened to The Boss since birth. I resisted it when I was younger as a rebellion to my dad’s taste, but I have come to love his music on my own time. His lyricism is embedded in my own songwriting inextricably at this point.”
Kim Gordon’s debut solo album, No Home Record, is out a month from today. After releasing the first single and video from that album, “Sketch Artist” last month, Kim Gordon is back with the new track and visual “Air BnB.”
In commemoration of the 10 year anniversary of Yo La Tengo’s Popular Songs, the 2xLP/CD will be 25% off at the Matador Webstore worldwide through September 12th.
(Yo La Tengo, 2009, photographed by Steve Gullick)
Someone at the label had the brilliant idea to rent a Tribeca theatre for a press + VIP “listening party”* for this sprawltastic masterpiece and in retrospect, it’s not much of a party without snacks or drinks. To clarify, label staff had snacks and drinks, we just neglected to serve any to the guests.
Anyhow, I thought the playback was going swimmingly, the depth of ‘Popular Songs’ being met with rapt attention until the room’s collective meditation was interrupted by (NAME RHYMES WITH DEAN OF AMERICAN ROCK CRITICS) snoring.
Fuck it, launch parties are for NASA. If this isn’t Yo La Tengo’s best album it’s firmly in their top 4 (I know it’s a cliche to say, “fight me”, but I’ve studied Muhammad Ali’s patented “rope-a-dope” strategy and I’m pretty confident I can persevere simply by letting you strike me repeatedly until you’re too tired to move)
(* – other than the snoring episode, the other highlight of the afternoon was product manager Todd Netter opining, “you have to admit, John Sterling is a really good announcer.” This observation was entirely unrelated to Todd bringing his tool box of talents to another record company)
Spoon today shine a light on the rarity track “Shake It Off.” Available digitally for the first time ever, and culled from a 2002 split single with Swearing With Motorists (Super Asbestos), the track was recently made the b-side of the 7” version of latest single “No Bullets Spent”
